The Florida Department of Law Enforcement reported to the FWC the following recent activity:
Escambia County
Officer Harr was patrolling the public boat ramp at Mahogany Mill, when he observed a charter fisherman and his crew cleaning fish near the ramp. While inspecting the catch resources, Officer Harr observed two larger amberjacks. The ship’s captain was accused of possessing larger amberjacks.
During a marine fisheries enforcement action at the 17th Avenue Boat Launch, Officer Lugg pulled into the parking lot and observed someone taking fishing gear and equipment from the bed of his truck and loading it into a towed vessel as if the vessel was about to launch off the ramp. Officer Lugg then observed the vehicle/trailer suddenly exit the boat trailer at a high rate of speed into heavy northbound traffic on 17th Avenue. Officer Lugg attempted to catch up with the vehicle to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle/vessel for failure to display a trailer tag. The car maneuvered in different directions in what appeared to be an attempt to avoid being tracked. After a short search, Officer Logue located the parked vehicle. The officer observed the operator standing next to the vessel with a black trash bag and several fish lying on the deck. Officer Lugg conducted a traffic stop and, after speaking with the operator, observed a large black drum, an undersized red snapper, and a deck snapper. All violations were mentioned accordingly.
During a marine fisheries enforcement action near Bayou Texar, Officer Logue conducted a search on an inshore angler and found the subject to have one undersized flounder and five undersized mangrove snapper in the cooler. All violations were mentioned accordingly.
Officer Machek and Lieutenant Corbin were patrolling the Pensacola corridor. Several ships were stopped to inspect resources. Numerous violations were found including undersized grouper, undersized gray triggerfish, oversized gray triggerfish, undersized Spanish mackerel, reef fish not in full condition, and lack of valid fishing licenses. All violations were addressed accordingly.
Santa Rosa County
Officers Bauer and Valdez were on patrol and observed a commercial fisherman. A resource check was conducted and two small black drums were discovered. The location of the subject was determined according to his violations.
Officers Bauer and Valdez were on patrol conducting resource checks. Officers located the targeted kayak fishing site in Santa Rosa Sound. After contacting the person, they found one small trout and two safety violations. The person did not have a personal flotation device or whistle on board and was aware of the regulations regarding speckled trout. Citations and a notice to appear were issued for the violations.
Lieutenant Corbin and Officers Bauer and Valdez were on patrol conducting resource inspections in Pensacola Bay at night. Officers observed a vessel with no white navigation light displayed. The vessel was stopped and during an inspection, Officer Valdez found a large redfish measuring 34 inches long. A warning has been issued to the vessel operator for his navigation light and an appearance notice has been issued for large redfish
This report represents some of the events dealt with by the FWC during the time period; However, it does not include all actions taken by the law enforcement department. Information provided by FWC.
Image from NorthEscambia.com.